The present invention generally relates to routing customer contacts, such as telephone call routing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for dynamically routing customer contacts to service providers who have bid for the opportunity to receive such contacts.
Consumers interested in acquiring services must first find a service provider who is capable of providing the required services. Typically, this means perusing a telephone directory and selecting a service provider from the often long list of service providers. In some areas of the country, this requires that the consumer determine which service providers are sufficiently close to the consumer geographically so as to attend to their needs in a reasonable time frame and for a reasonable cost. This process can become frustrating and time consuming, particularly if the consumer must leave messages for service providers who are not currently available to take their calls. In such an instance, the consumer is faced with the choice of leaving a message and hoping that the service provider will contact them shortly, or leaving multiple messages with multiple service providers until reaching a service provider who is available, and then dealing with the return calls of service providers whose services are no longer necessary.
Many consumers now own computers and have access to the Internet. Searches can be conducted to find service providers on the Internet. Some of these service providers have web-sites which provide information that can be valuable to the consumer. Traditionally, service providers and other businesses on the Internet have paid for each “hit” or each time an on-line user clicks or otherwise selects their link to arrive at their web-site. This requires two steps, identifying a service provider on a web-site and then generating a phone call or e-mail request. Moreover, such hits have been found not to be overly promising as the on-line user may surf the web by selecting and viewing several web-sites before calling a business or service provider. Accordingly, such “hits” often typically only cost the web-site owner a few cents as acquiring business from a given hit is unlikely.
There are many disadvantages, however, that present themselves to the consumers that conduct on-line shopping for service providers. First, appropriate Internet searches must be conducted in order to arrive at the service providers in question. Next, the on-line customer must determine which service providers are in their geographic location or which suits their service needs, and select among a plurality of the service providers. This, of course, assumes that the customer owns a computer and has the necessary Internet connection. Moreover, it is estimated that approximately seventy percent (70%) of small and medium businesses do not have active web-sites. Thus, there are millions of service providers such as restaurants, plumbers, and other small businesses that do not conduct transactions on-line or have any web presence whatsoever.
Ingenio, Inc. has developed an on-line based pay-per call system for routing telephone calls made by consumers to advertisers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,403. The advertiser, such as a service provider, registers so as to have its name and telephone number (typically a unique toll free number for that particular service provider/advertiser) presented on the Internet. When an on-line consumer searches for a particular service, a list of service providers/advertisers is presented to the consumer. A consumer can select from this list and dial the service provider's telephone number. If the service provider is not available, a message is left with the service provider. A predetermined flat fee is charged for each call made to the service provider. The '403 patent describes this fee as being paid by the potential customer, such that the service provider is compensated for the time in taking the customer's call. The '403 patent further discloses that a per minute fee is also charged to either the service provider or the potential customer after an initial time period, such as 10-minutes. The theory behind this fee is that if a potential customer is on the phone with a service provider for a significant amount of time, the likelihood that the service provider will actually sell goods or perform services for the customer increases. Thus, the service provider does not need to pay for dead-end “hits” or maintain a web-site or other Internet presence.
However, the Ingenio system also has several drawbacks. First, the consumer must have a computer and Internet access. Next, the consumer must conduct an on-line search to find the list of service providers for the service that the consumer is in need of. This may not take into account the consumer's geographic location. The consumer then selects a single service provider, and if that service provider is not available the consumer must leave a message. Although the '403 patent discloses technology which facilities the service provider returning the consumer's telephone call, the consumer is still left with the unenviable option of waiting for the service provider to return his or her call, or calling other service providers on the list. While benefiting various service providers who otherwise do not have an Internet presence, the Ingenio system does little to benefit the consumer. Moreover, the '403 patent does not take into account other contact or customer originated contact means, such as satellite-enabled voice-links, VOIP contacts, or electronic messages.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a dynamic contact routing system which charges a service provider only for contacts received, but which meets the needs of the customer as well, thus overcoming the drawbacks described above. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.